Nigeria is currently experiencing a seed deficit of about 320,000 metric tonnes, Access to Seeds Foundation, the Amsterdam-based Access to Seeds Foundation, powered by The Bills and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Netherlands government, has disclosed.
Executive Director of the foundation, Mr Ido Verhagen, disclosed this yesterday at a press conference in Lagos.
He said Nigeria could only boast of 80,000 metric tonnes of quality seeds, out of annual demand of about 400,000 tonnes.
He hinted that seed multiplication is a sustainable and profitable aspect of farming that young and energetic Nigerians should consider. This, he added, is so because seed companies would buy the products at pre-determined prices, giving the sector an advantage over other aspects of farming.
However, despite the gross shortage of high quality seeds, Nigeria-based Value Seeds tops the rankings in a new research on seed companies operating in Western and Central Africa.
